PSC Golf from The Billabong Golf Bar
Monday, Nov. 23, Phoenix – Stableford
Three groups on every par 3, two groups on most tees and a 4 hours 40 minute round and 2 slow 4-balls ahead of us confirmed the fact that some holiday makers have arrived and have no concerns about others on the golf course. Welcome to the high season!
The course was in good condition with two exceptions: the bunkers have more sand in them than Pattaya Beach (I hope you like fried eggs) and the greens were temperamental, hence no ‘2’s today.
Auke Engelkes (left) with Anucha, Brian Chapman and Mal Roberts.
We had four groups out playing in hot humid conditions and Richard Steadman, overcoming a hangover which helped him keep his head still, returned with 33 points for fourth. Lumpy Russell maintained his form following a recent 40 plus score with 35 points for third place vacating second spot to Lloyd Shuttleworth who had 37 points. But the person with his fingers in the cookie jar was Jim Grieve, romping home with 42 points and leaving 3 or 4 shots on the course with putts that refused to drop into the abyss.
Wednesday, Nov. 25, Green Valley – Medal
The last Wednesday of every month is the Billabong medal competition sponsored by long time supporter Brian Chapman and his company Globaleye Financial Consultants in Pattaya. This event is always well supported and this month was no exception as 44 golfers, including 9 ladies, took part.
Green Valley is always in good condition and the greens are returning to their usual slippery speed. Although this is somewhat surprising as most of the pins hardly ever move from the same part of the green. This shows a lack of imagination by the greens staff for there are parts of every green that are never used for a pin placement, the right side of the second green being the perfect example.
The scores today were off the chart. The ladies do not have their own competition in the monthly medal, which thwarted Miss Nu’s excellent effort to win the day with a net 63 gross 79. A formidable score in any situation but Auke Engelkes had a day which he will never forget. Level par after 13 holes, after which he felt the tension building in his hands – he said – and dropped 2 shots on the final 5 holes to record a net 62 gross 74. It was a fantastic score and richly deserving the first place trophy, shirt and hat from Globaleye.
The high standard was maintained for the minor placings as Mal Roberts just edged Joe Wheeler on count back with a creditable 68 and Archie Armstrong did the same to Pat Regan with a 69 to finish in fifth place.
The greens were unable to avoid eight ‘2’s being registered; Mal Roberts and Wayne Cotterell had 2 each while Auke Engelkes, Bob Newell, Kiwi Bill and Kharn were rewarded with one each.
Friday, Nov. 27, Burapha – Stableford
It was a depleted field today due possibly to the 8 am start – a tad early for some but it couldn’t be helped as there was a large tournament coming in behind our four groups.
Playing the C and D loops at Burapha we thought we were going to be in for a very slow round but we raced around in just on four hours. The greens on the C loop were ordinary to say the least and it looked like some of them had been lost as there was so much sand on them and it made putting very difficult, however I’m sure they will be back to their best in a couple of weeks.
The scores reflected the conditions with nobody playing to their handicap. There were no ‘2’s either so the prizes went down to third place. The top three were all locked together on 32 points but Mal Roberts edged the count back over Bob Philp in second and John Locke third.
